Dear Mister President,
Distinguished Members of the Board,
Dear Achim,

Germany strongly commends UNDP for its unwavering commitment to advancing sustainable development. The projects presented in today’s session perfectly illustrated UNDP’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to any crisis and offering integrated solutions from the global to the local level.

No other UN entity offers such a comprehensive portfolio and makes such multifaceted contributions to achieving the SDGs. Yet beyond its programmatic reach, UNDP’s strength lies in its ability to collaborate. At a time when multilateralism is under pressure, UNDP shows—every day—how effective and essential strong partnerships can be. Whether working with governments, civil society, the private sector, or through UNDPs deep integration within the UN Development System - no one cooperates with and provides services to more UN organizations, increasing both efficiency and impact. This makes it a key partner in ongoing UN reform efforts.

At the same time, we must voice our concern over declining financial support. Last year, expenditure already exceeded income—an unsustainable situation resulting from efforts to maintain support in partner countries. Planned cuts and core contributions at below half of Funding Compact targets are worrying. Despite fiscal constrains Germany chose intentionally to increase its support last year, particularly in core and thematic contributions. This reflects our strong belief in UNDP’s essential role within the UN development system. We see core resources as essential: they offer flexibility, stability, and long-term impact.

Looking ahead, we thank UNDP for sharing the zero draft of the new Strategic Plan. We welcome the inclusive process behind its development and the integration of evaluation findings. The plan builds well on existing work while adapting to new challenges. However, with just five years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, we encourage a stronger alignment with SDG implementation and clearer articulation of UNDP’s core mandate and unique strengths.

The upcoming UN80 process should not hinder those strategic decisions, but on the contrary spur greater efficiency and focus on comparative advantages— including by implementing already agreed reforms and finalizing the UNDS repositioning under RC leadership.

On a personal note, and on behalf of the German government, I would like to sincerely thank you, dear Achim, for your leadership and deep commitment to UNDP and the UN system. Even in challenging times and major crises, UNDP always remained a reliable partner that delivers outstanding work in any situation. Under your leadership, structures have been made more efficient and important modernization processes been initiated whereby the organization is well equipped to continue providing excellent services in the future.

I wish you all the best for your future endeavours.